DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson regrets heart equipment protocol claim

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said he regrets stating that difficulties in obtaining some medical equipment were linked to the NI Protocol.

The DUP leader made the claim in October saying it had led to delays for patients awaiting heart surgery.

But the Southern Health Trust and manufacturer Siemens said there was no supply delay because of the protocol.

On Monday, Sir Jeffrey said he accepted he had placed information in the public domain that was inaccurate.

He said he had spoken to the Southern Health Trust after making the claim and said they had apologised to him.

"I've had ongoing contact with the trust about this, the trust have apologised that the information I was given was inaccurate - not so much the fact this equipment had broken down and that cardiac procedures had to be postponed," he said.

"But I accept the trust's explanation that on this occasion it was the size of the equipment was the issue and they were able to source it from the supplier in Germany - and that the protocol on this occasion was not the problem."

Sir Jeffrey said he accepted that he had put information that was not entirely accurate in the public domain

Asked if he would apologise for making the initial claim, Sir Jeffrey said: "I obviously spoke on the basis of information I had been given from reliable medical sources.

"I accept the information was not entirely accurate and was placed in the public domain by me, and I regret that this happened."

The Southern Health Trust previously said the parts were sourced from Germany early in August and work was completed by 18 August.

In a statement on Monday, the Southern Health Trust said it had been in contact with Sir Jeffrey "regarding the recent difficulty with our cardiac catheterisation service between 4 and 21 August 2022".

"The trust confirmed that the service disruption was in no way connected to the Northern Ireland Protocol and expressed disappointment that Sir Jeffrey appeared to have been misinformed by sources about the issue on this occasion," it said.

Sir Jeffrey had initially told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster programme that patients waiting for life-saving heart surgery in a cardiac unit in a Belfast hospital "had to wait three weeks because the equipment had to be sourced from another country because we couldn't get it from our own country because of the protocol".

He later said he stood by his comments and said that the issue arose when people waiting for cardiac surgery in the Southern Trust had to be transferred to the Belfast Trust for treatment due to parts for an angiogram needing to be sourced from Germany.

At the time, the Belfast Health Trust said there was "no substance" to Sir Jeffrey's comments.

The protocol effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland.

But it means new checks on goods arriving from Great Britain.

Unionist parties argue that the protocol has undermined Northern Ireland's place within the UK by effectively creating a trade border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The DUP has blocked the restoration of power-sharing in its protest against the post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey said the protocol still presented "very real problems" when it comes to accessing medicines.

Last week a major pharmaceutical firm said there are still unresolved issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol despite changes made by the EU, aimed at guaranteeing the supply of medicines from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.